Kosovo deserves membership in the World Intellectual Property Organisation

Kosovo meets the criteria for membership in World Intellectual Property Organisation and this should happen, as it does not represent only a right, but a necessity too for advancement of protecting the intellectual property in our country. This is what the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Memli Krasniqi said in the conference titled “the […]

Kosovo meets the criteria for membership in World Intellectual Property Organisation and this should happen, as it does not represent only a right, but a necessity too for advancement of protecting the intellectual property in our country.

This is what the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Memli Krasniqi said in the conference titled “the System of Intellectual Property in Kosovo – achievements and challenges”, organised by the Agency for Industrial Property, Office of Copyright and Related Rights within MCYS and the Project financed by EU “Strengthening the System of Intellectual Property in Kosovo”. In this conference, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Bernard Nikaj, representatives from World Intellectual Property Organisation, police representative, customs, creators and businessmen participated too.

Minister Krasniqi also spoke more broadly about the achievements which have been marked towards protection of copy rights in Kosovo. He mentioned that a considerable progress has been marked, but he also mentioned that there are still challenges ahead of us.

“It is encouraging the fact that many creators and authors have used the legislation and have reported to the competent bodies and have initiated legal proceedings to protect their works. Although, we do not want misuses to happen regarding the rights of the author and intellectual property, it is important that in events when such cases occur, the authors themselves, creators, inventors and respective organisations undertake the legal actions so that the abusers are convicted in accordance with the law”, Minister Krasniqi said while he also added that for having a progress in these fields only the work of institutions is not sufficient.

“It is the society the one who should say stop to such things. If we see a movie circulating in pirate form before a premiere has been shown, if we see that an original book is copied for material benefit purposes, the cases must be reported accordingly. And to respond to such requirements in time, the responsible institutions of the country dealing with intellectual property must continue their work towards creating a functional system of intellectual property rights”, he said.

Minister thanked all local and international partners who have helped and are helping this segment.

On the other hand, the Minister Bernard Nikaj, stressed that Kosovo has marked a huge progress in protection of intellectual property.

“One of the challenges we are facing as a country is to ensure a business environment which is suitable for local entrepreneurs and creators, but also for attraction of investments from anywhere abroad. When speaking about innovators, entrepreneurs and local businesses, protection if ideas, protection of trademarks, protection of their patents is a key to encouraging and providing incentive to our creators and businesses who come forward with new products and ideas which add value not only to our economy but also penetrate to other countries of the region and even broader”, Nikaj said.

He also added that when we speak about foreign investors, it is critical for us to be able to guarantee these investors that the products and services they provide and produce, develop and trade in Kosovo and broader are protected according to modern and European legislation.

Latest entries in IP Network News

Led by President António Campinos, an EPO delegation which included Nellie Simon, Vice-President Corporate Services, and Christoph Ernst, Vice-President for Legal and International Affairs, visited Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Source: EPO

Nikoly Vassilev, Managing partner and Executive director of Expat Capital, the largest independent asset management company in Bulgaria, recently published a report about the current political and economic state of the country. Report key points: As a NATO member since 2004 and an EU member since 2007, Bulgaria is enjoying political and economic stability Debt/GDP […]

IP4all Weekly Bulletin

The new EU trade mark Regulation enters into force on March 23rd. As a result, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) will change its name to the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The amending Regulation also revises the fees payable to the Office, including an overall reduction in their amounts, particularly in the case of trade mark renewal fees. On 23.3. 2016, the Office’s online application forms and fee calculator will be automatically updated to reflect the new system.

From its base in Alicante, Spain, OHIM has processed more than 1.3 million Community trade mark applications in 23 EU languages, from nearly every country and region in the world, since 1996.

The Amending Regulation was published on 24 December 2015 and is part of the EU trade mark reform legislative package that also includes the replacement of the existing EU Trade Mark Directive (Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and the Council).

OHIM is the EU’s largest decentralised agency. It is entirely self-financed, receiving no funding from the EU Budget. As well as managing the Community trade mark and the registered Community design (RCD), it works in collaboration with the EU national and regional IP offices to build a stronger IP system across the EU for the benefit of users.